Man tried to sexually assault jogger in Palo Alto

A woman taking a jog in Palo Alto Wednesday morning managed to escape a man who attempted to sexually assault her and who may have groped two other women in the past month, police said.

The woman, who is in her 20s, was jogging on a path through El Palo Alto Park near 102 Palo Alto Ave. around 6:55 a.m. when a man approached her from behind.

The man wrapped his arms around her, grabbed one of her breasts and tried to pull her down, police said.

The woman screamed and was able to free herself, though she fell in the process, police said. The man turned and jogged away on the same path, then headed south on the Alma Street.

The victim, who was not injured, got up and followed the suspect while calling police. The suspect was last seen jogging east on Hawthorne Avenue. Officers searched the area with a K-9 unit but were unable to find the man.

Police said they believe the man who grabbed the jogger this morning may be the same man who grabbed a woman's buttocks in the 600 block of Fulton Street at about noon on Aug. 20, and grabbed a different woman's breast at the Stanford Shopping Center shortly after noon on Aug. 29.

"We are concerned about all of these events, but we are particularly concerned about this one, as it appears as though the suspect's behavior may be escalating," police Lt. Zach Perron said.